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Former Maryland track star Thea LaFond makes history at Paris Olympics

After making history as the first world champion for Dominica, Thea LaFond made history on Saturday night after becoming the first Maryland track and field alum to medal in the Olympics.

LaFond set a new national record after winning gold in the triple jump, winning the event after posting a mark of 15.02 meters while America took home another bronze medal in the event.


LaFond becomes the tenth overall gold medalist in Maryland history and the first Terp student-athlete to win Gold since Vicky Bullett won a gold medal on the USA women’s basketball team in the 1988 Olympics.


This marks the third Olympics for LaFond in her career after competing in both the 2016 and 2021 games.


“Oh, God, my country is never going to stop partying, are they?” LaFond said after the race. “And it’s a Saturday? Just cancel work on Monday, guys.”


LaFond’s gold medal adds to her accolades in 2024 after winning the triple jump title at the 2024 World Indoor Championships back in the spring, posting the top jump in the world at 49-feet, 3-inches.


LaFond arrived at Maryland as a state champion and All-Met selection ahead of the 2012 season where she went on to be named the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Field Athlete of the Year during the 2013 indoor season, finishing first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.69. She then went on to earn multiple All-America honors after placing in both the triple jump and high jump at the NCAA Championships, along with finishing eighth in the long jump at the ACC Championships. LaFond closed out her career by being named the Big Ten’s Field Athlete of the Year in 2015. LaFond moved to Maryland when she was seven and graduated from Kennedy High School.


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